In fact, the new millennium would mark the beginning of a very different chapter in his life. Her 13-year romantic partnership with Grant ended in May 2000 and she began a relationship with American businessman Steve Bing, Damian’s biological father (Bing, who died by suicide in 2020, initially denied his paternity, although this was later proven by a DNA test).
Has motherhood changed her? “A lot, because it meant someone else always came first. Very often, I think in life you put others first, your parents, your siblings, your friends, or whoever needs you. But when there is a child, there is no doubt that he will be first and, in a way, it is quite liberating, because putting someone else before you also takes some pressure off you .
“Becoming a parent changes you in many ways. I mean, you’re always afraid for your kids, on some level. As they grow, these fears change in some ways. But you’re constantly worrying about their safety, worrying about their happiness, worrying about their mental health, worrying about everything… But I’m pretty worried, anyway, so it hits home a little.
Today, the two men are incredibly close. Now 22, Damian obviously shares not only his mother’s penchant for donning leather pants, but also her fierce work ethic (“Oh yes, we’ll both work 23 hours a day”). Of their decision to start working together professionally, she says: “It seemed like a very natural progression of the relationship we had. Being a single mother of one child meant by default we spent a lot of time together, even though he was in boarding school for 10 years.
Something changed during lockdown, she admits, because they were at home together for an extended period of time, “and that’s when he really started writing.” Although she says the taste for cinema dates back much earlier to her childhood, after Hurley gave Damian his first camera when he was eight.
“He kind of pursued me to do his mid-teen baby movies, which we cut into DVDs and they’re hysterical… It’s me and my friends, Hugh is in it, my ex Shane (Warne) is in a lot of them, Shane’s kids, all of our cousins, nieces and nephews, are in these baby movies, and I always promised him that when he finally gets to make his first feature film, I’ll be there.
